us?"

"I'm here," replied Pottle.

"And I," said Woodford.

"And I," added Marchmont, the younger of the two midshipmen.

"Well done!" thought I, "this is better than I dared hope." I invited
the speakers to join me in my comparatively sheltered position in the
crosstrees; and when they had done so an effort was made to ascertain
the extent of our loss. This, after a great deal of difficulty, we
found consisted of the surgeon, the boatswain, the senior mid, and fifty
men, leaving thirty-two clinging to the foremast. This was a very heavy
loss; and I felt it so bitterly that for the first half-hour after it
was ascertained I almost regretted my own preservation. This feeling,
however, was nothing short of impious ingratitude, and so, on
reflection, I recognised it to be; with an unspoken prayer, therefore,
for pardon to that great Being who had so mercifully preserved me, I
strove to divert my thoughts from the melancholy reflections which
assailed me, by an endeavour to devise some means for our continued
preservation. After a long consultation with Woodford respecting our
probable position, it was agreed between us that, as soon as the weather
moderated and the sea went down sufficiently, an endeavour should be
made to construct some sort of a raft out of the wreckage which was then
supporting us, and on it to make our way, if possible, to the southward,
hoping to be fallen in with and picked up by the _Dido_; failing which
we would try to reach the mainland, and either seize a small vessel or
give ourselves up to the Spaniards, according as circumstances turned
out.

We had just come to the above-mentioned conclusion when Collins
remarked, hopefully:

"The gale seems to have broken, sir; it is certainly not blowing so
hard; and the seas don't seem to be breaking quite so heavily; and--
look, sir--look, lads, the sky is breaking away overhead; I can see a
star. Ah! it's gone again--but there's another. Hurrah, my hearties!
keep up your spirits and hold on to the spar like grim death; we'll
weather upon old Davy yet, this bout."

It was quite true; the sky was rapidly clearing, and half an hour later
it was a brilliant starlight night; the wind, too, was dropping rapidly,
and the sea no longer broke so heavily or so incessantly over us as it
had done at first. Fortunately for us the water was quite warm; we
therefore suffered no inconvenience whatever from the immersion.

At length, after what seemed